Selected Case Outcomes

Postova Banka AS and Istrokapital SE v. The Hellenic Republic

In an arbitration initiated at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) by the Slovak bank, Postova Banka, and its former Cypriot shareholder, Istrokapital, Greece successfully secured the dismissal of all claims. The claimants sought payment based on their interests in Greek bonds (the "GGBs") that were restructured in Greece's 2012 sovereign debt exchange following multinational negotiations to reconcile Greece's sovereign debt crisis. The claimant's interests in GGBs were reportedly more than €500 million prior to the debt restructuring in 2012. An ICSID tribunal found that it did not have the jurisdiction to rule on the matter because the GGBs were not protected investments under the bilateral treaty between Slovakia and Greece.

A team from Analysis Group -- including Managing Principal Gaurav Jetley, Principal Elizabeth Eccher, and Vice President Lindsay Greenbaum -- was retained on behalf of the Hellenic Republic by Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP. Analysis Group supported two academic affiliates who testified at the arbitration. Professor R. Glenn Hubbard of Columbia Business School testified on issues related to the primary and secondary markets for GGBs, as well as the evolution of the risk characteristics of the at-issue GGBs over time. Professor Hubbard also opined on the extent to which Postova Banka's purchases of GGB interests represented a form of regulatory arbitrage. Professor Ray Ball of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business testified on Postova Banka's accounting treatment of the GGBs.